In the production of steel coils in a hot strip rolling mill, hot strips of steel are transported along a roller table or conveyor between processing stations wherein the strips are reduced to an appropriate thickness and ultimately coiled into a roll by a downcoiler. As the hot strip of steel moves along the conveyor it is crucial that the strip be properly directed to remain on the conveyer. To this end, sideguides are positioned along the conveyor edges to direct the steel strip and prevent it from running off the conveyor. During processing, the steel strip can travel at linear velocities along the conveyor of between 700 and 2700 ft/min. Unfortunately, it has been found that when the moving steel strip contacts the stationary wear plates of the sideguides, the edges of the steel strip can be damaged in terms of edge abrasion, deformation and rolled in defects in the resulting steel coil.
What is needed is an assembly that reduces the damage to edges of steel strips as the strips are transported or directed along a conveyor by the sideguides.